Article handling apparatus



July 27, 1965 G. L.. N. MEYER ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed March 14,1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 27, 1965 G. N. MEYER 3,197,014

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed March 14, 1963 s sheets-sheet 2 1mmx.

t r 1" o QI l d INVENTOR f N l i GEORGE. L N. MEYER N l i BY ,l i jow uma@ i ,L ATTORNEY July 27, 1965 G. l.. N. MEYER 3,197,014

ARTICLE HANDLING APPARATUS INVENTOR. GeoReE LN. MEYER lu. MMX

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,197,614 ARTICLE HANBLING APPARATUSGeorge L. N. Meyer, Milwaukee, Wis., assigner to Geo: J. MeyerManufacturing Co., Cndahy, Wis., a corporation ci Wisconsin Filed Mar.14, 1963, Ser. No. 265,161 9 Claims. (Cl. 198-32) This invention relatesto an article handling apparatus, and in particular, to a device formoving containers in an upright position on a plurality of conveyors,and transferring the said containers onto a single conveyor in singleline fashion by starwheel combining means.

The apparatus described herein is intended for use with high speedmachinery commonly used in bottling plants. It is understood, however,that the invention is applicable for use with other types of machinerywherein the transferring of articles is necessitated.

The transferring and combining of containers from a plurality ofconveyors is required in numerous bottling plant applications because ofthe capacity of certain equipment. It is often necessary to utilize twomachines having a low output capacity to supply a single machine havinga high output capacity. For example, two bottle washers having a lowcapacity are often used to supply bottles to a filling machine so thatthe latter might be operated at its mam'mum capacity.

Since present day bottling equipment is designed for high output, itwill be appreciated that any article handling or transferring apparatuswhich combines containers from a plurality of conveyors will necessitatea structure of dependability and one which is capable of high speedoperation with a minimum of container jamming and upsetting.

Heretofore the combining of containers supplied from a plurality ofconveyors has been accomplished by dials advancing screws or starwheelswhich are driven and which positively -advance the containers at aconstant rate and position them onto a single conveyor. This positivetransfer of the containers being combined by an external driving meanscreates undesirable aspects of container jamming.

To accomplish the objects of this invention, an article handlingapparatus is disclosed herein which has a freewheeling containercombiner means that is actuated by the supply of containers deliveredthereto. Further, a limiting means comprising a ratchet assembly allowsonly a predetermined maximum amount of containers to be combined.

It is the general object, therefore, of the present invention to providea device for combining containers supplied from a plurality o'fconveyors, onto a single conveyor.

It is a further object to provide a combiner whereinthe means to combinecontainers into a single line is freewheeling whereby the supply lof'oncoming containers to the combiner actuates the same.V

It is a further object to provide a combiner which, although beingfreewheeling, limits the amount of containers passing therethrough.

It is a further object to provide a combiner wherein the maximumquantity of containers permitted to pass therethrough is determined bythe speed of a single output conveyor. v

It is a further object to provide a combiner mechanism which is readilyadjustable to accommodate a wide range of bottle diameters without anyinterchange of parts.

A further object is to provide an improved combiner which is capable ofsmoothly and efiiciently transferring containers from a plurality ofconveyors onto a single ice conveyor with a minimum of marring andjamming of the containers.

In addition to the above mentioned objects, other objects will bepointed out in or be apparent 'from the fol- `lowing specification andclaims which, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings,illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of the bottle combiner of thisinvention;

FIG. 2 is a top elevation view of FIG. 1 with certain parts broken away;

PIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. l; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along lines 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, thecombiner apparatus 1 of this invention cornprises a stationary framemember 2 which supports the combiner. A pair of endless chain,plate-type, infeed conveyors 4 and 6, which are substantially parallelto each other, are adapted to transfer a supply of containers such asbottles S in an upright position in the direction shown. The conveyors 4and 6 are supported and guided on the frame member 2 in a conventionalmanner. Center strips 3 and 5 are supported relative to the frame 2 bythis figure.

conventional support means (not shown). The conveyors 4 and 6 pass `oversprockets 10-10, respectively, at the discharge end of combiner 1. Withreference to FIG. 1, it is understood that only one of the sprockets10-10 can be seen and that the other one, which drives conveyor 4, isimmediately behind the sprocket shown in The sprockets 1li-10am keyedtoshaft 12 which is driven by an independentdrive means (not shown)through a wood block friction clutch 15 intenposed between shaft 12 anddrive sprocket 16, the latter of which is driven by chain 14. Normally,the two infeed conveyors would be driven by the respective machine withwhich they are associated, such as a washer. In the event of a bottleblock or jam on either conveyor 4 or 6, the clutch 15 will slip therebystopping the flow of power to shaft 12. Journal means 18-18 mounted inframe member 2, as shown, rotatively support shaft 12.

Discharge conveyor 20, also mounted on frame 2, is located intermediateinfeed conveyors 4 and 6, and is adapted to receive containersalternately from the said infeed conveyors. Stainless steel wear plates7 are interposed between conveyors 4, 6 and 20 and frame 2,-as clearlyshown in FIG. 3.

Discharge conveyor 20 is driven by a drive means (not shown) at itstermination point remote from the discharge has sprocket 24 keyedthereto at an intermediate position and is driven by conveyor 20; Shaft22, in turn, drives sprocket 26 which drives the combiner means 28, tobe hereinafter described. Journal means 21-21,-mount ed in frame 2,rotatively supports shaft 22, as shown.

With reference to FIG. 2, as containers 8 are transferred on infeedconveyors 4 and 6 to the combiner means 28, they are guided by guidemeans comprisingstationary center guides S12-32 which are in parallelrelationship' to the inner portions of the infeed conveyors and guide rstarwheels 51 Aequidistant from' such axes.

rails 36-36 which guide the containers along the outer portions ofconveyors 4 and 6. The center guides 32-32 converge to a point which isintermediate the output conveyor 20. A strip 35,0f flexible plastic isinserted between the two rails 36-36 at their convergence point andextends to a centerline drawn between the axes of the The guide Vrails36-36 are held in place by adjustable bracket supporting means 38, eachofwhich is comprised of a pair of Leshaped angle Ybrackets 4t), 42having aligned slots 44-46, respectively, note FIGS. .l and 2. Bracketsare stationary and arek fastened to frame 2 by welding or anyother'sui'table means. Brackets 42 are attached to guide rails 36-36 andare adjustably secured to brackets 40 by conventionalV bolt 'and nutfastener 48, 58, Vrespectively. It can be seen that slots 44 and 46 ofbrackets A 40`` and. 42,. respectively, .beingv in alignment with oneanother, permit bracket 42 to be adjusted relative to stationay bracket49 to thereby vary the distance between guide rails 36-36 and centerguide 32-32l at Y.the entrance point of bottles into the combiner means28. This adjustable bracket supporting means 38 is necessary -in orderYthat various diameter bottles may be combined etfectively.

Upper and lower guide' means 52,'53,lrespectively,

.` guide containers 8, along the output conveyor 28. Adjustment of guidemeans 52, 53 is permitted by adjustable bracket` supporting means 38,which are similar to those described supra.

I In order4 to establish guiding of the containers immediately'hpontheir departure from starwheels 51, lower guide means 53 extends to apoint intermediate the top .and middle sets of aligned points 49 ofstarwheels V51-51.l Since upper guidemeans S2 are 'in'horiiontalalignmentwith the lower set'rof points 49 of starwheels 51-51 an oisetextension 52 is attached to guide means 52 so thatV the. guide may `beextended toy a point intermediate' the middle and`bottorn sets ofValigned" points 49, asclearly shown in'FIGj 1. Extension V52;"is held inplace byextension bracket 57 which is attached to guide means 52, 53 byscrews 58, also shown in FIG'. 1.

`Witlr reference to FIGSJ]` and 3, combiner means 28 includes thefollowing.Y Y

Bridge means comprising leg 'members 62 and 64 and top member 66vsupport combiner'means 2S. Each starwheel 51 is mounted on a drivespindle 68 having a bevel gearl 70 secured thereto by pin 72.5 Outersleeve 74 has a reduced end portion with threads '76 thereon whichextends through slots 81 in top support member 66 and fisk threadedlyengaged in a .bracket 78. Brackets 78 are l 'slidably mounted inchannel'St) located on top support Vmember 66." It can'be 'seen thatbracket '78 andouter sleeve 74, may be tightened relative to stationarytop member 66 by engaging the threaded portion of sleeve 74 intoxbracket78 until .the shoulder portion S3 of the said `sleeve rmly abuts thebottom` portion of member ,66. The drive spindlesS. arfmade adjustableto each otherV to adapt the combiner to accommodate containers Vofvarious diameter; l

`Upper and lower ball Vbearing'members 82 `and 84,respectively,are'pressed into sleeve 74. Inner sleeve S6 maintainsseparationbetween bearing members 82 and 84,

whichiournalvdrive spindle 68. A ve point starwheelV 51 havingjthreesets of aligned points 49 forming bottle receivers pockets S4therebetween, is attached to spindle 68 by Set` screw means 88.` Thestarwheel 51 may be a unitary structure or maybe of two parts, as shownkvbe counteracted. Spacers 58 are inserted between sleeves 74 andstarwheels 51, as vshown in FIG. 3.

4 Bevel gears 70 on spindles 68 are enmeshed with similar bevel gearsS8. Spline arrangements between gears 88 and central shaft 98, as shownin FIG. 3, permit the adjustment of brackets '78 and rbevel gears 8Srelative to each other. Central shaft 99 is journaled in bushings 91 inbrackets 78.

Shaft 9i) extends beyond leg member 64 and has an arm 92 keyed thereto,as shown in FIG. 1. Pawl member 94 is mounted on arm 92 and is urgedinto engagement by spring 93 with ratchet member or wheel 96 which isatiixed to a lsprocket wheel or speed limiting member 98,' both of whichare freely rotatable on bushing 100. The said arm'92,'pawl 94, ratchet96, and sprocket wheel 98 comprise limiting means 95. Bushing 10) isthreaded at one end and is supported on bracket 102 by locking means 104and 166, as clearly shown in FIG. 3. The bracket is secured to topmember 66 as shown. Thus, arm 92 and gears 83"-88 are all tixed tocommon shaft 98 and rotate therewith, whereas Vratchet member 96 andsprocket wheel 98 are freely rotatable on bushing 180. Thus, arm 9.2,pawl 94 and wheel 96 provide a unidirectional connection-between thesprocket wheel 9S and shaftV 9?.

Operation The` operation of the combiner apparatus heretofore disclosedis as follows:

The guide rails 364-36, forks 71'and starwheels 51 must be p properlyadjusted toV obtain maximum results. The 'adjustments are made toaccommodate the particular diameter of containers which are to 4becombined. Guide rails 36- 36 `are adjusted sothat there is approximately1A totalV clearance between thecontainers and the guide rails. Thestarwheels 51V are then positioned so that vthe inner portion of 'theVguide rails 'S6-36, if extended into Ythe starwheels 51, would notextend beyond the surface of e the recessed portions or pockets of thestarwheels 51.

Subsequent to the adjustment ofthe starwheels 51'the forks 71 areadjusted so that the spindles 68 are vertical. Guide'means 52, 52 and 53are then adjusted by adjustable bracketjsupporting means 38 so that thesaid guide means are adjacent tothe inner diameter of the `starwheels51, shown bythe dotted lines on the said starwheels in FIG. 2.

Oncoming containers 8 are delivered to the starwheels 51 on the twoinfeed conveyors 4 and 6, which are moving in the direction shown inFIG. 2. VThe receiving pockets 54 of starwheels 51 'are so positionedrelative to each other that containers 8 will Vbe placedion dischargeconveyor 20 alternately from the two infeed conveyors 4 and 6. It isnoted that the containers 8 actuate the starwheels 51 as they aredelivered thereto and the starwheels alternately allow containers 8 tobe placed from conveyors 4 and'6 onto conveyor 20 in single linefashion.

With reference to FIG. 3, as the starwheels 51 are rotated by oncomingcontainers,they rotate gears which in turn rotate gears 88, shaft 90,and arm 92,V all of which are 'fixed to their respective' shafts. Thepoints 49 of starwheels 51 Vwill always maintain their phasedrelationship since one starwheel cannot turn without turning the other.j

Pawl94 is urged into'eng'agernent with ratchet member 96 by rspring 93.Ratchet member 96 is connected to sprocket wheel 98, both of which arefreely rotatable on l.bushing 180. Hence, ratchet member 96 and sprocketwheel 9S rotate in a clockwise direction ytogether and are constantlydriven in synchronism with conveyor 20 by Vmeans of sprocket 26 andinterconnecting chain 25,`

termined by the quantity of containers actuating the starwheels 51, thepawl 94, being unidirectional, will be urged upwardly out of engagementwith ratchet 96. Hence, the constant rotation of the ratchet 96 andsprocket 9S will have no effect on freewheeling arm 92, shaft 9i), gears83 and starwheel assemblies 34 under normal operating conditions.However, when shaft 96 attempts to rotate faster than the drivenrotational speed of ratchet 96 and sprocket 98, pawl 94 engages ratchet96 to form a driving connection and hence limits the rotation of shaft99, gears 88 and starwheels S1 since the arm 92 and shaft 90 will beunable to rotate faster than the driven ratchet 96 and sprocket 98.Thus, only a maximum predetermined quantity of containers are permittedto pass through the starwheels 51 due to this limiting action of theunidirectional pawl 94, ratchet 96 and sprocket 9S.

Hence, the pawl 94, ratchet 96, sprocket 98, shaft 9i), gears 83 andstarwheels 51 are arranged in such a manner as to provide a freewheelingcombiner means which is container actuated and also provides a limitingmeans to eiectively control the maximum quantity of containers desiredto be combined.

Although but one embodiment of the present invention has beenillustrated and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that various changes and modifications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention or from the scope of theappended claims.

I claim:

1. A device for transferring containers in an upright position fromseparate conveyors onto a single conveyor including:

a pair of infeed conveyors providing a supply of oncoming containers;

a discharge conveyor intermediate said infeed conveyors;

separate means to drive said conveyors;

container actuated combiner means including a pair of container actuatedstarwheel assemblies, one positioned on each side of said dischargeconveyor, means connecting said assemblies in phased relationship, saidassemblies adapted to be actuated by oncoming containers and to transferthe same alternately from said infeed conveyors onto said dischargeconveyor; and

limiting means modulated by said discharge conveyor,

said limiting means allowing only a maximum predetermined quantity ofcontainers to be transferred to said discharge conveyor.

2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said limiting means includes anarm member fixed to said shaft, a unidirectional pawl mounted on saidarrn member, a ratchet member rotatively mounted on said shaft, asprocket member rotatably mounted on said shaft and xed to said ratchetmember for rotation therewith, means operatively connecting saidsprocket member with said discharge conveyor to form a drivingconnection when said shaft attempts to rotate as fast as 0r faster thansaid sprocket to thereby limit the speed of said shaft.

3. Article combining apparatus for transferring articles carried on apair of infeed conveyors to a single discharge conveyor comprising:

combiner means for alternately transferring articles from the infeedconveyors to the discharge conveyor, said combiner means including apair of rotating members which are rotated by the articles as they aretransferred from the infecd to the discharge conveyor; and

speed limiting means for limiting the speed at which said rotatingmembers can be rotated by articles transferred thereby.

4. Article combining apparatus according to claim 3 which said rotatingmembers are starwheels geared to each other in phased relationship. l

5. Article combining apparatus according to claim 3 in which said speedlimiting means includes a speed limiting member, means for rotating saidspeed limiting member at a constant speed, and a unidirectionalconnection means between said container actuated rotating members andsaid speed limiting member so that said rotating members can be drivenby the articles at speeds equal to or less than the speed of said speedlimiting member but cannot be driven at speeds in excess of the speed ofsaid speed limiting member.

6. Article combining apparatus according to claim 5 in which saidunidirectional connection means includes a ratchet arm and pawloperatively connected to said conrainer actuated rotating members and aratchet wheel` operatively connected to said speed limiting member, saidratchet wheel adapted for rotational engagement with said pawl.

7. Article combining means according to claim 6 in which said means forrotating said speed limiting member includes a driving connectionbetween said discharge conveyor and said speed limiting member.

8. Article handling apparatus for transferring articles between a firstpair of conveyors and a second single conveyor comprising:

transfer means for alternatiely transferring articles between said rstpair of conveyors and said second single conveyor, said transfer meansincluding a pair of rotating members which are rotated by the articlesas they are transferred between said first pair of conveyors and saidsecond single conveyor; and

speed limiting means for limiting the speed at which said rotatingmembers can be rotated by articles transferred thereby.

9. Article handling apparatus according to claim 8 in which said speedlimiting means includes a speed limiting member, means for rotating saidspeed limiting member at a constant speed, and a undirectionalconnection means between said container actuated rotating members andsaid speed limiting member so that said rotating members can be drivenby the articles at speeds equal to or less than the speed of said speedlimiting member but cannot be driven at speeds in excess of the speed ofsaid speed limiting member.

References Cited bythe Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,404,232 7/46Hunter 198-32X SAMUEL F. COLEMAN, Primary Examiner.

EDWARD A. SROKA, Examiner.

1. A DEVICE FOR TRANSFERRING CONTAINERS IN AN UPRIGHT POSITION FROM SEPARATE CONVEYORS ONTO A SINGLE CONVEYOR INCLUDING: A PAIR OF INFEED CONVEYORS PROVIDING A SUPPLY OF ONCOMING CONTAINERS; A DISCHARGE CONVEYOR INTERMEDIATE SAID INFEED CONVEYORS; SEPARATE MEANS TO DRIVE SAID CONVEYORS; CONTAINER ACTUATED COMBINER MEANS INCLUDING A PAIR OF CONTAINER ACTUATED STARWHEEL ASSEMBLIES, ONE POSITIONED ON EACH SIDE OF SAID DISCHARGE CONEYOR, MEANS CONNECTING SAID ASSEMBLIES IN PHASED RELATIONSHIP, SAID ASSEMBLIESD ADAPTED TO BE ACTUATED BY ONCOMIN CONTAINERS AND TO TRANSFER THE SAME ALTERNATELY FROM SAID INFEED CONVEYORS ONTO SAID DISCHARGE CONVEYOR; AND LIMITING MEANS MODULATED BY SAID DISCHARGE CONVEYOR, SAID LIMITING MEANS ALLOWING ONLY A MAXIMUM PREDETERMINED QUANTITY OF CONTAINERS TO BE TRANSFERRED TO SAID DISCHARGE CONVEYOR. 